Excalibur's Two Great Powers / The Straw Hat Pirates

Arthur's price was ten times the original amount. Just as he had said, it was astronomical.

"Well... cough, cough... Ma—ma—ma—I'm sorry. As tempting as that price is, I don't have an Eternal Pose." Igaram coughed twice and expressed his regret.

If it had been anyone else, Igaram would probably have seized the opportunity to attack by now.

But the man before him was Arthur, whom Crocodile had invited to become Mr. 6. His strength was only a step away from that of a senior agent.

And Igaram knew all too well how strong senior agents were. They were absolutely beyond what his people could handle.

So Igaram couldn't and didn't dare attack Arthur. All he could do was politely refuse.

"Is that so?" Arthur put the bills back in the case and gave Igaram a long look. "Then, sorry for the trouble."

"Nami, let's go."

Watching the two walk away, Vivi, who had remained silent all this time, finally spoke. "Iga... Mr. 8, will everything be all right?"

"Ma—ma—ma—it will be fine, Miss Wednesday. He is a truly remarkable man. His bearing tells me, you, and everyone else that he is an honorable knight." Igaram sang a few notes and spoke with a calm expression. "At the same time, he is not someone to be provoked..."

"Yes..."

"Have Mr. 9 come in. We'll continue discussing the plan to hunt the whale."

"..."

Arthur and Nami left town without obstruction and headed back the way they had come.

"Arthur, can we believe what that man said?" Nami asked on the way.

"Yes. At least, my Instinct didn't detect anything wrong." Arthur nodded. That was precisely why he hadn't attacked. Otherwise, he would already have used force to make Igaram hand over the Eternal Pose.

Instinct (A) was an ability far above Observation Haki, one of King Arthur's particular abilities.

Although it couldn't sense a wide area like Observation Haki, in some respects, it was a genuine bug.

Lie detection was only a minor function. If Arthur wanted, he could achieve Future Sight.

Katakuri's Observation Haki could see briefly into the future, and Arthur's Instinct (A) could easily do the same.

That was how Arthur had automatically awakened Observation Haki only a few months after transmigrating.

And without anyone teaching him, he had rapidly raised it from rank (F) to rank (E).

After enhancing it several times in succession, he had soared straight to rank (D).

Besides the system's enhancements, Instinct (A) deserved even more credit for that rapid improvement.

"What should we do next, then?" Nami asked, looking at Arthur.

Although Arthur had never told her about Little Garden, Nami had sensed from his expression that something was wrong. She connected it with what Arthur had told him about the islands' magnetic fields before they came to this island.

Their next island was very likely a place where the magnetic field would take an extremely long time to build up.

Although she was curious how Arthur knew so much, the clever Nami didn't press him for answers.

It was enough to know that he wouldn't hurt her.

When the time came, she would naturally find out.

It had to be said that after meeting Arthur and boarding his ship, Nami was much more mature than in the original story.

She still loved money as much as her life, and she was still sly and adorable, but she lacked the empress-like domineering manner she had in the original.

Whenever she had free time aboard the ship, she liked to wear thin clothing and tease Arthur in all sorts of ways. As their feelings warmed, Arthur repeatedly punished her with chops of his hand. Arthur was firmly in charge, and although she usually found all kinds of excuses to "swindle" away his "half" of the money, she was obedient in serious matters.

Perhaps that was the power of love.

Chapter 22: Excalibur's Two Great Powers

At Arthur's decision, the pair temporarily halted their journey at Whiskey Peak.

Rather than stay in that seedy town, they moved the ship to the far side of the island's mountain.

Before doing so, Arthur discovered that he had still underestimated the bounty hunters' greed. He hadn't expected them to actually carry off every last bit of food.

So, before moving, Arthur gave the sentries a bit of a beating and took back all the food.

If he hadn't needed to stay here for a while, he would have killed them already.

When Igaram learned what had happened, he nearly broke out in a cold sweat. Not only did he give the sentries a beating, he also brought them before Arthur to apologize.

Only after repeatedly promising that he wouldn't let anyone disturb them did he obtain Arthur's forgiveness.

Mr. 8's actions made all the bounty hunters in town realize that a terrifying figure had arrived on the island. Even their immediate superior had to treat him seriously, so how could they dare approach the area where Arthur was staying?

Arthur and Nami were happy to have the peace and quiet, living a relaxed life like hermits.

Ever since they met, the two had been constantly traveling over the sea, with very little time for peace and quiet. They had never stayed in one place for more than three days.

Now that their journey had temporarily stopped, besides their usual playing around, the two finally had time to keep busy.

Nami began drawing nautical charts, while Arthur entered serious mode and trained.

It was undeniable that Arthur was a very lazy person, perhaps because he had been a shut-in in his previous life.

The Arthur Pendragon template was too good, Excalibur was too powerful, and the system enhancements he received after every victory meant that Arthur rarely trained.

When he first transmigrated, he had still practiced swordsmanship. But after his swordsmanship reached rank (B+), his fundamentals no longer needed reinforcement, and the sailing ship was too small for him to practice freely. Apart from playing around with Nami every day, Arthur had completely turned into a salted fish.

Now that he had a spacious place, Arthur finally began to train in earnest.

Time flew like a white horse glimpsed through a crack, and in the blink of an eye, more than half a month passed in leisure.

The mountain at the back of Whiskey Peak was directly opposite the docks.

On the beach, Nami lay on a beach chair in a swimsuit, reading today's newspaper with great interest.

Beside her, several sheets of rice paper lay on a table beneath a beach umbrella, with charts of unknown waters drawn on them.

Boom—

Just then, with a tremendous roar, a pillar of water erupted from the sea and shot into the sky.

A figure leaped down from the top of the pillar. After landing, he turned his back on it and walked toward Nami.

As the force of the water pillar dissipated, what it contained was exposed.

They were several sections of an enormous sea beast's corpse. They fell from the sky like meteors, crashing into the sea with thunderous booms and staining the nearby water red.

"Welcome back—"

Putting down the newspaper, Nami looked at Arthur as he approached. Her eyes swept teasingly over his body, clad in nothing but a pair of boxer shorts, before fixing on his crotch as she spoke with a smile.

"Are you greeting me, or greeting 'it'?" Arthur said helplessly. He held a Golden Sword with a bladed scabbard in his hand. Its blade was no longer concealed by Invisible Air, revealing its true form.

"Hee-hee... both. I'll get to know it first, so I won't be scared when we come face-to-face later." Nami's words were filthy as soon as she opened her mouth, but her reddened cheeks told others she wasn't quite so calm inside.

The contrast left Arthur somewhat speechless. If you're that shy, don't say it.

Fortunately, this wasn't the first time, so he had developed some immunity.

Arthur decisively declined to respond. Instead, with a thought, the Golden Sword in his hand turned into a golden radiance and dispersed.

The next moment, Arthur sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes to rest, and reflected on the training he had just done in the sea.

His training naturally hadn't been hunting sea beasts. That sea beast had merely ambushed Arthur on his way back, and he had dealt with it in passing.

His so-called training actually consisted of repeatedly unleashing Excalibur's Pseudo–True Name Release a thousand meters beneath the sea, then contemplating the difference between Excalibur and an ordinary slash.

And indeed, after more than half a month of experiments, Arthur had actually figured it out.

Excalibur, the True Name Release of the Sword of Promised Victory, could be described as a slash that transcended dimensions, or as a destructive light that annihilated all things.

When unleashed, it converted its wielder's magical energy into dazzling light, forming a golden torrent.

That torrent of light possessed two great powers.

The light at the very front was a terrifying cutting blade. Propelled by the golden torrent, it could cut through anything hard.

Once the cut was made, the golden torrent would pour in, evaporating and destroying everything, reducing everything struck by Excalibur to dust.

Even if something endured the cutting edge at the front, it would still be vaporized by the intense heat of the golden torrent behind it.

And even if it endured all of that, one mustn't forget that Excalibur had thirteen seals.

From this, one could see just how terrifying Excalibur was. It was worthy of being a shining holy sword forged by the planet, and fully deserving of its EX rank.

For the past half month and more, Arthur had repeatedly unleashed Excalibur beneath the sea. Besides understanding the power of its True Name Release, he also wanted to experience the feeling of looking down on everything when unleashing Excalibur.

Then, carrying that feeling, he would swing out the slashes of this sea's world.

With Excalibur broadening his horizons, Arthur's understanding of sword pressure and slashes rose rapidly, and it became easier and easier for him to unleash a Flying Slash.

That also meant his understanding of swordsmanship was soaring at a visibly rapid pace.

Once he had gained enough experience, his swordsmanship could rise to rank (A) when his physical abilities had been strengthened to a certain level.

"Honestly, I know your body is strong, but you still need to watch your temperature." Looking at Arthur sitting cross-legged, Nami muttered, then got up from the beach chair with a dry towel. She knelt beside him and carefully, gently wiped the seawater off him.

As she ran the towel over his sharply defined muscles, Nami gazed at Arthur's incomparably handsome face, and the corners of her lips curled into a lovely smile.

She couldn't help recalling the scene in Orange Town...

Arthur—I'm so glad I met you!

Chapter 23: The Straw Hat Pirates

Time flew, and another seven days passed in the blink of an eye.

Counting this day, Arthur and Nami had stayed on Whiskey Peak for exactly one month.

Today, Arthur's Instinct detected a trace of something different in the atmosphere.

So, for once, Arthur didn't train. Wearing a pair of beach shorts, he played to his heart's content with Nami. During the day they swam and built sandcastles. At noon, he watched Nami draw nautical charts, and they talked about their past experiences and the things they had seen and heard. From time to time, Nami made a few dirty remarks, and under her deliberate seduction, he took some liberties with her and enjoyed some pleasant sensations. Then, in the evening, they barbecued together on the beach.

This was the wonderful life of a man and a woman traveling the seas, a world for just the two of them that ordinary people could only envy.

"Have they finally arrived?"

As night fell, Arthur watched the fading twilight. He and Nami had already set up the grill, and the corners of his mouth curved as he gave a soft chuckle.

"Arthur, what is it?"

Nami, wearing only a swimsuit, was preparing the ingredients. Seeing Arthur suddenly pause, she couldn't help asking.

"Nothing." Arthur smiled and shook his head, lit the charcoal, and started the evening's barbecue.

Arthur knew that while they barbecued, a wild feast was also beginning in the town on the opposite side behind them.

It was a feast for their prey, and also a final feast that would bring about their own destruction.

Arthur had no intention of joining in. He only wanted to wait until tomorrow, then take the Eternal Pose from Nico Robin, who would soon arrive.

"It's so noisy over there!"

As the night grew darker, Nami, who was showing off her barbecuing skills, finally heard the sounds of revelry from the other side.

Listening to the music and noisy laughter that kept reaching her ears, Nami frowned slightly. "Are those people throwing a party?"

"Ah... they've probably set their sights on some pirate crew and are drawing them in, step by step." Arthur spoke dismissively. "A party prepared to welcome pirates. What a foolish thing to do."

"Hehe... Maybe the other crew is made up entirely of idiots." Nami laughed too, but like Arthur, she was mocking the bounty hunters.

Anyone with even a little sense couldn't possibly believe that someone would welcome pirates.

Rather than use a trap that could be seen through at a glance, it would be more convenient to assassinate them.

"Never mind them. Let's keep eating. We can leave tomorrow."

"Oh? Does that pirate crew have an Eternal Pose?" Nami's eyes lit up as she spoke expectantly.

"Something like that." Arthur turned the meat skewers, his words carrying a hint of meaning.